Should a Pageant Winner Be Expected to Stay Thin?

Wow. Pageant organizers aren't even trying to hide that they think 17-year-old Domonique Ramirez, a.k.a. Miss San Antonio, should lose her crown because she gained weight: "She was doing a photo shoot and I asked to wear her wardrobe from the competition, but it did not fit her. I told her we need to get you on an exercise program. We need to get ready to compete for Miss Texas, just like any elite athlete," pageant spokeswoman Linda Woods told ABC News. "As a Miss San Antonio reigning queen, she has to live up to our rules and regulations and the standards of our contract."

Ramirez's parents were informed over email that their daughter was being replaced by a runner-up, and the teen beauty queen is now fighting for her crown in court.

The fact that the pageant officials aren't the slightest bit embarrassed to say that they think Ramirez is not at the proper fighting weight to be a Miss Texas contender—that her poundage puts their investment in her at risk—seems indicative of our culture's attitude towards fat in general. After all, plenty of other pageant winners have survived actual scandals. Tara Conner, dubbed "Mess USA," famously held onto her Miss USA title after allegations of cocaine use and underage drinking in 2006. (She went to rehab in 2007.) In the end, neither Carrie Prejean's topless photos nor her divisive remarks about same-sex marriage took down Miss California in 2009. And Miss USA Rima Rakih kept her crown after photos of her pole dancing (fully clothed) at a 2007 radio contest surfaced in 2010.

Do you think gaining weight is reason enough for Ramirez to lose her crown? What should be expected of a beauty queen during her reign?